- [Rita] On this edition of Native Report, we meet Loren Anthony.

He's been in the spotlight as a Navajo actor for years.

From "Meet the Millers" to "Longmire" to the "Lone Ranger," his resume is stacked.

- [Ernie] In that story, he shares his experience walking off the "Ridiculous Six" movie set after not seeing eye to eye on how Indian country was being depicted in the script.

- [Rita] We then meet Def-I, also of the Southwest Navajo nation.

This rapper speaks to indigenous life while smashing stereotypes in the lyrics of his song.

- [Ernie] Def-i is active and drawing awareness to native issues and helping raise funds for communities through benefit concerts.

- [Rita] And we meet Leander Begay of Arizona's Dead Pawn Skateboards, as he shares his journey from painting his first skateboard, to mass producing them.

- [Ernie] How these native entertainers and entrepreneurs are making their mark in Indian country and beyond, on this edition of Native Report.

- [Announcer] Production funding for Native Report is provided in part by the Blandin Foundation.

(guitar and flute music) - Welcome to Native Report, and thanks for tuning in.

I'm Rita Aspinwall.

- Thanks Rita, I'm Ernie Stevens.

Loren Anthony is in the spotlight as an accomplished Navajo actor, with acting roles in major films like "Meet the Millers," "Longmire," "The Lone Ranger," to name a few.

He was one of the actors who walked off the set of Adam Sandler's Ridiculous Six, garnering worldwide attention.

He says a producer told him he would never work in Hollywood again because of it.

That's not the case.

Akwesasne Mohawk producer Vince Schilling talks to Loren about his experiences as a high profile Native actor.

(gentle guitar music) - It was all a wish, a dream, an idea, that I'd wanted to get into the film industry and also work for my community, also helping youth and helping others.

It all became something that I thought was impossible at one point, because of my selfish ways, coming from an addict background, coming from being pressed down from society, being pressed down from the people in my family, people in my community, because a lot of this stuff that is going on now is totally impossible as a kid, years back.

(speaking in foreign language) Hi, I'm Loren Anthony.

I'm based out of Gallup, New Mexico, right on the borderline of the Navajo Nation.

- [Vince] In 2015, Lauren Anthony was one of several native actors who walked off the set of Adam Sandler's movie, the "Ridiculous Six," after racially insensitive lines in the script and Native stereotypes on the set incited him to leave.

Anthony, who was told he would never work in the industry again, proved everyone wrong.

- Five years ago, I walked off the film, "Ridiculous Six."

It was a choice that I made personally.

To make that choice of walking off, there was some consequences to it, there was some threats that had happened, one of them where, producers, people in the industry telling me that myself, I will never work in Hollywood ever again because of the incident.

Of course, nobody wants people walking off from a job, but if a job pertains to having to disrespect your people, your culture, your native women, and all the things that you stand for, then, I would rather be that person who never sold out to people and just take that higher road of, okay well, if I don't ever work in the film industry again, at least I knew that I made an impact at that point, that I made the right decision, that I did follow my heart and trust my gut on what needed to be done.

So, that was five years ago.

Now, since then, I'm 28 films in this industry now.

Just getting back from Los Angeles, California, just a couple of days ago, shooting my first feature film out in Hollywood as a lead actor, for me, it was just true grit, believing in myself, believing in the people that believe in me as well, all my supporters, all my friends, all my family that really have stuck with me since day one, those are the people that really matter to me, that kept me grounded.

- [Vince] As a member of the Navajo nation, Loren Anthony feels representation is everything.

- Being a Native person, myself, of the Navajo Nation, it's important for this representation to happen, because there are a lot of rez kids out there that grew up just like me, watching TV from an antenna in the middle of nowhere and just wanting to be somebody, just wanting to be seen, and so when you see somebody else that looks like you on TV, or in movies, it's a feeling that's beyond describable, because we hardly and ever see any representation of Native people.

We deserve those spots.

We deserve to be recognized.

We deserve all of the wonderful things that are out there and I really believe that we can do it.

- [Vince] One thing Anthony feels strongly about, is reaching out and helping his own community.

- One of the community things that I do is called, "Chizh for Cheh" which stands for "Firewood for Grandpa."

We don't only help out grandpas, we help out grandmothers too, here on the Navajo nation.

We try to focus on high-risk elders on the Navajo nation who have no fixed income, who have no family help, resources to help them out with, like getting the firewood themselves, so we go out every year to collect firewood and deliver it to families, to elders in need.

When we got into doing "Chizh for Cheh" for 2019, and we wrapped up in March of this year, COVID happened.

So right after that, we just transitioned into doing Mutual Aid for the Navajo Nation, and providing Mutual Aid on Navajo Nation was providing 700 food boxes, 700 cases of water, 700 cases of cleaning supplies and sanitation items for our Navajo elders and families, because COVID hit a lot of our families pretty hard.

During the month of June of 2020, I lost eight friends to Covid, and it was one after another, so it was a very personal battle for me.

Life, it's crazy how things come about, but the thing was to push forward, and to push forward was also to take care of yourself physically, and because I'm a big gym rat, the gyms closed in March as well, so I was also out of this resource of finding therapy through working out, and I needed to find ways to help me get back on track.

So, I created my backyard workouts, which entitle lifting railroad ties, chains, bars, tires, big rocks, and I was just repping them out.

So check this out, something really awesome happened during my time with the backyard workouts.

Men's Health Magazine, national publication, international, worldwide on the web, hit me up and said, "Hey, "we want to put you in our magazine."

So, I didn't know how to take that, I was like, "Really?"

Because I thought it was a joke, but it became out to be a real reality when we had the full crew here, shooting back at the backyard, and we did our workouts, and it was the most amazing experience I've ever had, but I'm really happy to bring another level of representation, because I'm going to be the first Native guy to be featured in a fitness magazine, first Navajo to be featured in a fitness magazine.

So I'm really happy and thankful for Men's Health Magazine for reaching out and having me a part of this.

No matter what situation you're in, you can do it, you can get back into shape, you can find health in the resources that you have around your home.

Just finding two gallons of water and lifting that thing, there's ways to do it.

If you have the will, there is a way.

I really appreciate you watching this segment.

I'm Loren Anthony, I send you all my strength, all my love, and may you be blessed every day of your life.

Remember, don't give up, Native Indian country out there, We are strong, we are resilient, and we are awesome and beautiful.

You guys have an awesome day.

(laid back music) - There is a lot of magic that happens when a baby is born, and we can talk about some of that at another time.

One of the things we watch for is newborn jaundice.

Breastfeeding is the very best diet for a newborn baby, and every breastfeeding that happens has benefits, for both the baby and the mother.

Jaundice is yellow skin and yellow eyes, and is caused by bilirubin.

Bilirubin is formed when red blood cells break down, and babies have a different kind of blood when they are in the uterus.

As they get rid of that blood and form new blood, they build up a lot of bilirubin.

Bilirubin needs to pass through the liver so the baby can get rid of it.

Babies all have immature livers, and sometimes they have trouble getting rid of bilirubin.

If the bilirubin level goes too high, it can cause hearing problems and neurologic problems.

The normal bilirubin level for an adult is less than one milligram per deciliter.

If your bilirubin level went to two, you'd look like a school bus.

Newborn babies typically have bilirubin levels in the 10 range, and sometimes it can get very high.

If the level gets too high, the treatment is ultraviolet light.

The baby is put into a bassinet with a warmer and ultraviolet lights.

A baby-sized mask goes on to protect the baby's eyes, and the light treatment decreases the bilirubin in the baby's skin.

Depending on the bilirubin level, this can take anywhere from six to 24 hours or more.

Once the mother's milk comes in, baby's got a lot more volume, and in a few days they have seedy, yellow stools, and this is how they get rid of bilirubin.

Babies will typically have those bright yellow stools for a couple of months before the stools turn brown and start to get odor to them.

That is another story.

Remember to call an elder.

They've been waiting for your call.

I'm Dr. Arne Vainio and this is Health Matters.

(gentle music) - Of the Navajo nation, Def-i is an MC, rapper, producer and artist, well-known across the Southwest.

His diverse musical skills, range from hip hop, spoken word to contemporary acoustics.

Based in New Mexico, his lyrics speak directly to indigenous life while smashing stereotypes, and connecting his audience with his Native culture.

Def-i is a long-time community advocate for Native youth as a positive role model.

Antonia Gonzales of the Navajo nation, with videographer and editor Anthony Rodriguez, introduces us to Def-i and learn about all he's doing for Indian country.

(slow guitar music) (city traffic humming) - Peace to all my tribe people, dark-skinned, fly eagle, five-fingered being breathing, keep your minds peaceful.

Couldn't afford the jewel in 1944 on the 4th of June.

Boarding school, went into boarding school, forced to move, got chores and more, sports and a dorm, but only one course of food.

Fire chief kept the wood burning before morning.

Outside the outhouse early at 4:40 past the sheep rug on the floor by the door in the dormitory, escaped through the common doors and explored with my war pony.

Here to take it back home 'cause y'all know the rezzes do.

Scrub the resin off your face and scrape away the residue Peep your resume like beams, our people resonate, are resolute, sacred and stoic, able to cope with all the pain that we soak in.

The next generations are woken, but before the reservation was a home, you know the nation was stolen.

I'm in a sweat lodge, seeing a vision.

It's like I'm back out the womb dreaming the grandmother moon in a fetal position.

- [Antonia] Christopher Mike-Bidtah, a.k.a.

Def-I, representing the Diné Nation, feels most comfortable on stage.

- There are similarities between the culture of hip hop and my traditional culture.

Somehow it felt very inviting, and just being able to express myself on a beat, rhythmically, through lyrics and on drums, somehow helped me kind of reconnect to my roots, since I wasn't raised primarily, traditionally.

Hip hop was also, and still is, the largest culture worldwide, and no matter where you go in the entire world, you'll find hip hop somewhere, and so that also allowed me to realize that, "Oh wait, I could maybe reach a world platform, "maybe, through hip hop," and that's probably when I first started to write the raps, and discovered hip hop can be also an outlet for me to transcend not only just the negative feelings and vibes that I had within myself, but also even potentially help me leave the reservation and travel the world, basically, through music and hip hop.

♪ Got gifted, traveled this far ♪ ♪ But the bar has risen ♪ ♪ The distance drifting beyond any star system ♪ - [Antonia] His lyrics speak directly to indigenous life, while smashing stereotypes and connecting audiences to Native culture.

A long-time community advocate and artist-educator, he raises awareness of indigenous issues and promotes sobriety.

- When I was growing up, a lot of my male role models were hip hop artists, or a lot of the popular rappers at the time, and during that era, I feel like a lot of the lyrics and the content could have been a little bit over the edge for certain audience members, and people who identify themselves differently than others.

So nowadays, I feel like including positive messages and lyrical content that can be more accepted, or even just heard, without triggering feelings of self-doubt or any kind of negative vibe, I feel like is needed right now.

♪ My spirit's essence shines iridescent ♪ ♪ Mother of pearl ♪ ♪ But y'all don't know the flow is floating ♪ ♪ Like a ghost ship ♪ Back then, well that's kind of all we had, we didn't really have too many positive male role models, like I said, besides my direct family, probably just my Chei, my grandfather on my maternal side, was there for me and my dad is now, but back then, we didn't have such a very good relationship together so, growing up in a household that was kind of filled with a lot of some of the issues that we face as indigenous people, on rural areas or in urban areas, it sparked a lot of emotions during when I was growing up, so my escape was hip hop, basically listening to rap, and getting out more, I met a lot of my best friends and a lot of dancers, artists, and people I felt like were like-minded, creative individuals.

Potential, basically, but also just facing a lot of these adversities that we face out on that reservation village area, or even here in the cities.

- [Antonia] Def-i came into the hip hop scene in the early 2000s, as part of an indigenous hip hop crew.

He's since put his heart into solo work and other projects, his compassion shown throughout his new album DRZLTN, nine tracks reaching larger platforms, working alongside other artists.

- The album itself is just D-R-Z-L-T-N, that's short for De-resolution.

I got inspired from living on a rez, and for those of us, and people who live on the reservation refer to as rez life, I guess, that, and also with the fictional movie known as "Tron Legacy," basically there's a word in there called derezzed, and it basically means deprogramming, or it happens when a program is shut down from their grid system.

I basically just juxtaposed that idea with the term "res life."

What would the word 'derez' mean for someone who's lived on the rez their whole life, but maybe never seen the movie Tron?

So that's why the album cover has an indigenized grid system with Def-i walking out of the reservation system with the futuristic kind of metropolis in the back with Shiprock, New Mexico too, so it's just kind of like the juxtaposition of both of those ideas, from the movie, and then just from living on the rez.

Then the word "derezzed" or just the word rez, it just spoke stuck out to me.

- [Antonia] COVID-19 has hit Indian country hard, even impacting artists, but community support, virtual events, and collaborations with his band DDAT, a Dine jazz rap quartet, opportunities are flowing in, and he's grateful to share positivity during the pandemic.

♪ Follow the eagle and honor my people ♪ ♪ Turn up like the throttle in EQ ♪ ♪ We're conquering evil ♪ ♪ Brought some pottery and offerings ♪ ♪ Walk in my moccasins ♪ ♪ Heads won't comment when you're doing good ♪ ♪ With the moccasins ♪ ♪ Swallow your pride, forget the fame and glory ♪ ♪ Respect those who came before me ♪ ♪ Check your creation stories ♪ ♪ About the mascots braided and now faded ♪ ♪ I'm a proud native ♪ ♪ My styles are never outdated ♪ (gentle flute music) - My youth was a bit different than most of my contemporaries growing up here.

I unfortunately lost my parents, my father when was 13, and my mother when I was 15.

But when I was 13, when my father passed on, I was removed and went into, to Duluth, Proctor Minnesota, and I did not come back to my reservation 'til, my senior year in '74.

Then right after that, I went into service.

First off, know who you are.

You're Anishinaabe.

The challenges I faced as a youth were different than what my parents faced when they were a youth.

The challenges were different that my parents faced that my grandparents faced as a youth.

So, the continuing theme that I learned over the years when I talked to my mom and dad before they passed on, my grandma and grandpa and other elders in my community was, seek knowledge.

You seek knowledge many ways.

You can continue your education.

You can seek knowledge traditionally, culturally, and spiritually, because the more you seek knowledge, the easier you're to overcome your challenges.

(gentle flute music) - CEO of Dead Pawn Skateboards, Leander Begay of Arizona, shares his journey from painting his first skateboard to mass producing them, and also how the pandemic has impacted business.

He'd usually be traveling and touting the sickest Native American skateboards, as they're branded, but instead, producer, videographer and editor Steven Tallas of the Navajo Nation shares how Leander is putting full force into marketing, in order to keep making big jumps to success.

(gentle guitar music) (Eazy Living by Stuart Moore) - When I was younger, I used to skateboard a lot, but back then, they didn't have skate parks, so I just mostly skated, up in Farmington area, you find these old irrigation canals and you'd clean them out, pull the weeds, and then it was rough, but you still skated it, up and down.

My name is Leander Begay.

I'm originally from Steamboat, Arizona, which is about maybe an hour and a half north of Holbrook, Arizona, off I-40.

So that's where I originally grew up.

I got into a car accident.

It was a rollover, and I snapped my leg right here.

So I got surgery done, and got a metal pin, it's like two foot long in my leg.

So that kind of quit my professional skateboarding dreams.

So I quit, and didn't go back to it for a while, for years and then, 'til like six years ago.

I stopped drinking, I used to drink a lot, and I've been sober for 12 years now, so, in that time you don't really have as much to do right?

(laughing) So, I was bored one day, I said, "Oh I used to skateboard when I was younger."

Then maybe, since I'm an artist, put one and one together, I'll just make my own.

So I painted my first skateboard, did some prototypes, and people saw 'em and bought 'em right away.

And then common sense only tells you, "Ooh, I'm on to something, you know?"

(playful piano music) - Oh man, okay, so, I can't even remember probably back in like 2014, maybe, yeah, it was maybe '15, 2015, I was locked up.

I was locked up in Flagstaff County Jail, and they have a bunch of newspapers that get sent in to that jail, and he happened to be featured in one of those newspapers, and everybody in the pod knew that I skateboarded, and that I do art, so they showed it to me, and me, I'm like, "Yeah, that's mine, yeah."

I'm not going to let you guys have that, you know?

So I clipped it out, and I kept it with me for a long, long, long time.

I actually, I still have it, that original one, it's like six years old and it's all folded up because in prison, you can't take anything from jail to prison, so I hid it inside of my paperwork, you know what I mean?

All of my legal paperwork, so that I can take it with me to prison and when I finally got there, I actually, I used bits and pieces of it and sort of like evolved it in my own style and yeah, I mean, to this day, I still reference your work, man.

It's awesome, really.

(upbeat music) - You just can't believe it.

You just do this for fun.

You try to make a living at it, and you try to do it for fun, but, it's kind of twilight zone-ish when you get recognized, I'm not used to it.

I'm a real private person, and I'm not the best at being recognized, I prefer to be on the down-low, but it comes with it, I found out, it comes with it, yup.

(laid-back music) - Trying to tell the story the way younger generations can see it and understand it and try to fall in love with it.

That's what I try to do.

So, I try to be different and try not to be the same thing over and over Try to hit multiple bases, try to do something unique, something good to the eye.

(laid-back flute music) - [Ernie] For more information about Native Report, look for us on the web at NativeReport.org, on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

- Thank you for spending this time with your friends and neighbors across Indian Country.

I'm Rita Aspinwall.

- And I'm Ernie Stevens.

Join us next time for Native Report.

(upbeat flute music)